Curriculum

The Tax Program curriculum at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law gives students both a solid foundation in the four principal areas of tax law—Corporate Taxation, Partnership Taxation, International Taxation, and the Taxation of Property Transactions—and the opportunity to pursue particular areas of interest. To earn the LLM Tax degree, students must complete 24 credits of required and elective courses.

Required Courses

Students must take eight required courses (16 credits). During the fall semester, students take four courses in the principal areas of tax law: Taxation of Property Transactions, Corporate Taxation, Partnership Taxation, and International Taxation. In the spring semester, students build upon those core courses by taking four advanced courses: Advanced Taxation of Property, Advanced Partnership Taxation, along with an advanced corporate tax course and an advanced international tax course. View required courses.

Elective Courses

Beyond the required courses, students must take four elective courses (8 credits). They are free to design their own program of study and can choose from over 26 different tax electives. Many students choose to enroll in courses covering a variety of subject areas; however, students have the option to choose specific elective courses that reflect their specialized interest in a particular area of taxation. View elective courses.

Students may choose one or two electives, subject to prerequisites, at the Kellogg School of Management on a space-available basis, subject to prerequisites, including such advanced subjects as accounting and information systems, entrepreneurship and innovation, international business, operations management, and real estate.

Students can earn a certificate in Corporate Tax, International Tax, Tax Controversy, or Wealth Transfer and Legacy Planning by taking certain required and elective courses. Visit Certificate Programs for more information.

Research

During the fall semester, full-time and joint-degree students can elect to participate in the Tax Research Seminar, the successful completion of which is reflected on a student transcript. This seminar is comprised of five, two-hour sessions covering the various sources of tax authority with which all tax practitioners must be familiar. The seminar also includes a discussion of the various electronic and hardcopy resources that are available to assist practitioners in conducting tax research.

In fulfillment of one elective course, full-time students may also enroll in Advanced Research and Writing on Tax Issues in the spring semester. This course allows students to receive credit for researching and writing an article on a tax topic under the supervision of one of the full-time members of the tax faculty.

Practice Ready Seminars

During the fall and spring semesters, full-time and joint-degree students can elect to participate in our practice ready semesters -- Accounting Seminar, Tax Ethics and Excel Modelling Seminar. Each seminar is comprised of five, two hour sessions covering the intersection of accounting principles and those of the tax law, professional tax issues presenting ethical considerations, and the availability and utilization of excel modeling in the practice of tax law. The successful completion of these seminars will be reflected on a student's transcript.